A statement purportedly from an Islamic militant group linked to Al-Qaida terror organisation today warned Italy to withdraw its forces from Iraq or it will “shake the earth” in Italy.

The trial of 69 suspected members of a Turkish al-Qaida cell charged in a string of November suicide bombings in Istanbul opened today, but the court quickly ruled that it did not have the authority to hear the case and that any judgment would have to come before another court.

Dozens of suspected members of a Turkish al-Qaida cell were going on trial in Istanbul today accused over a series of suicide bombings in the city that killed 61 people including the British Consul-General.

A British-born terror suspect was asked by senior al-Qaida figures in Afghanistan to recruit Australian Muslims to be trained in explosives and sniper techniques, a court heard today.